Pranesh Balaji Clinical research involves studying health and illness in humans. It allows us to take fundamental research conducted in labs and transform it into new treatments and information that can assist patients.
Participating in clinical research studies often yields multiple advantages to participants, including better treatment of their medical condition as well as providing essential data that could aid researchers later on.
Clinical trials
Clinical trials are essential in translating medical advances from laboratory to patient. Volunteers play an essential part of medical research that leads to new treatments and cures for disease; without them, these advances would not have been possible. The FDA has put in place regulations designed to protect participants, including restricting how long participants can remain in studies; keeping participants as safe as possible during study participation; providing them with informed consent forms which outline all aspects of study participation; etc.
Clinical research may involve many forms of interventions, from medications and biological products to surgical procedures, radiological examinations, devices, behavioral treatments and preventive services. Clinical research can take place anywhere from hospitals, clinics or university campuses to communities or even over the phone or online and could last days, weeks or years depending on its purpose.
Before beginning a clinical trial, researchers test the experimental treatment in both laboratories and animals to ascertain its safety and effectiveness. If this process shows promising results, the researcher can move onto human clinical trials with four phases that each serve different goals; initially a pilot study is usually small scale testing conducted on limited number of participants to evaluate safety as well as detect any side effects or concerns with its implementation.
Phase 2 trials, or larger studies comparing new treatment with standard therapy, involve gathering information on how it affects each participant of a trial to analyze its efficacy and determine how best it should be utilized in future research studies. During this step, research teams collect details regarding participant response to each treatment modality; using this data for further analyses.
Phase 3 trials involve testing treatments on larger groups of people and monitoring their health over time to measure its effects. This allows researchers to identify any risks associated with the treatment and devise ways to mitigate them; additionally, researchers will create the final version of their treatment to submit to the FDA for approval.
Genetic studies
Genetic studies analyze a sample of someone’s DNA to detect variations that increase risk for disease or alter drug responses, providing researchers with invaluable data that allows them to develop more effective tests and treatments than existing ones, while simultaneously giving a deeper insight into why diseases arise in people. These genetic studies are increasingly popular as researchers use them as part of their work in creating better tests and treatments as well as gain more knowledge on why certain conditions arise in society.
While many inherited diseases are caused by mutations to single genes, many conditions result from interactions between genetics and environment that influence disease susceptibility. Therefore, it is crucial that researchers examine how various combinations affect susceptibility.
NHGRI scientists collaborate with individuals and families affected by inherited diseases to gain more insight into how individual genes contribute to these conditions, as well as the effect inherited variations have on different physical characteristics (phenotypes) so as to develop more accurate and efficient tests and treatments.
Genetic variation refers to any alteration to one of the genes that code for proteins found within our bodies, with some changes associated with increased or decreased risks for developing diseases like heart disease and cancer while others may have no bearing whatsoever; currently there are over 3,000 such genes which have been associated with cancer or other health conditions.
An integral aspect of genetics research is predictive testing to detect patients at increased risk for certain diseases, which can result in improved medical care for these individuals and can also provide crucial preparations for families planning pregnancies that could be affected by hereditary conditions.
Predictive genetic testing has become an increasingly popular part of healthcare, yet it still comes with potential drawbacks. Predictive tests only indicate someone’s likelihood of contracting an illness; they cannot tell us its severity or recurrence; also, genetic tests results may be inaccurate or misleading – thus it’s vitally important that people understand the implications and interpretation of such tests in order to accurately interpret them.
Epidemiological studies
Epidemiological studies use various data sources to study disease patterns and causes among populations, using epidemiological techniques such as population health surveys to detect factors that may compromise health over time. Epidemiologists may also use epidemiological research methods to detect emerging problems or evaluate prevention/control measures on an overall population level; such analyses form an essential part of clinical research that can save lives by helping prevent epidemics.
Observational studies are another form of clinical research. These investigations examine individuals in their normal environments; for instance, researchers might ask older adults to regularly report their memory recall so that they can compare results and study what affects memory more closely than traditional clinical trials do. Unlike their counterparts, observational studies don’t test an intervention.
Clinical trials allow scientists to conduct scientific investigations that assess whether experimental treatments are safe and effective in humans, testing them on laboratory animals or small numbers of volunteers first. If it shows promise, research can then move onto larger-scale clinical trials conducted among large numbers of volunteers; their safety is closely monitored during such studies while participants continue seeing their own doctor for routine healthcare during this process.
Institutional Review Board (IRB). IRB members include medical experts as well as community representatives trained in understanding clinical research’s benefits and risks.
The IRB reviews every study to make sure it fulfills a set of requirements, such as participant safety and the likelihood that its findings are useful. In addition, Johns Hopkins Medicine maintains an IRB, as well as a Research Participant Advocacy Group to enhance participants’ experiences during clinical research trials.
All clinical research involves some degree of risk to participants. Therefore, it’s crucial that we recruit volunteers from diverse ethnicities and age groups so we can be certain our findings apply to a majority of people.
Biomedical research
Biomedical research is a general field of science which seeks ways to prevent and treat illnesses which cause illness and death in both people and animals, through scientific experimentation. Biologists and chemists employ careful experimentation methods, with strict regulation to protect participants. Biomedical researchers employ special equipment for cell, tissue and fluid analysis and may employ several tests such as cervical smear analysis or blood sample collection in their investigations.
Biomedical scientists play an integral part in medical technology. Their work includes creating new medications, vaccines and diagnostic procedures; conducting basic research into disease causes and effective ways to treat them; as well as conducting basic medical investigations aimed at understanding those processes and their consequences – work that’s vitally important to national and global health.
Biomedical research helps prevent death and disability caused by diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes. Life expectancy in America has seen dramatic gains due to advances in medicine brought forth from this research; its effects can be felt around the globe through stem cell therapies or even just vaccine development.
Studies of biomedical science have revealed that women are becoming an increasing share of the workforce in this area, likely with more women entering graduate programs in biological sciences. Furthermore, most graduate students in biological sciences receive some form of financial aid during their first year of program enrollment.
Clinical studies are an integral component of biomedical research, designed to test an experimental drug or treatment in a group of participants and allow scientists to evaluate its efficacy and identify any side effects. All information concerning participants remains strictly confidential – their personal details will never be shared with anyone outside their research staff or physician, while all aspects of the trial are fully explained prior to accepting participation and there are members of staff available 24/7 should any issues arise during or after enrollment.
